Harness for handling mattresses



"ch" '1927. Mar I 9 J. F. GAIL HARNESS FOR HANDLING MATTRE SSES I Filed Dec. .219 22 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 March 29 1927.

. J. F. GAIL HARNESS FOR HANDLING MATTRESSES 4 Shets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 26. 1922 J F. GAIL HARNESS FOR HANDLING MATTRESSES March 29, 1927.

PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN F. GAIL,

OF EVANSTON, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOB TO SIMMONS COMPANY, OF XENO- BHA, wrsconsm, A ooitronArIon or. DELAWARE.

HARNESS HANDLING MATTBESSES.

Application filed December 26, 1922. Serial No. 608,995.

My invention relatesto improvements in. harness for handling mattresses and has particular reference to the handling of mattresses while certain tufting or stitching Operations are being, performed thereon. However, it will be .understood that in its broader phases, the invention is capable of more extended application to other uses.

In certain operations to which mattresses are subjected during the course of manufacture, it is desirable to insert ties through certain portions of the mattress, for instance the ordinary tufting operation or a side-stitching operation, to form, what, in the t'radeis known as a roll edge. In such cases, it is very desirable that the spacing and positioning of the stitches shall be effected with accuracy according to certain predetermined standards and to suit the dimensions of the mattress which is being operated upon.

After the filling has'been inserted into the tick, the latter is usually closed at the] open end by means of the customary stitching with an ordinary sewing machine. The mattress is then in a very loosely filling used, and 1n order to give the mattress the desired finished appearance, it is usually considered necessary to tie the uper, and lower surfaces of the tick togetherby tufting stitches spaced over the area of the mattress according .to a regular pattern. In addition to the tufting operation, it is also desirable, especially in the case of a. mattress having a highbox, that is to say a thick mattress, to treat the edges of the mattress in such a manner that the outer wall of the mattress, i. e., the box, will assume and thereafter maintain a substantially straight vertical position rather than the curving or ation may be performed by hand or by what in the trade is known as a roll edge machine. As an example ofthe use of such a machine, reference may be had to the Collett U. S. Patent No. 1,342,423 issued June 8, 1920.

Ina co-pending application, Serial No.

557,358 I have shown a feeding or handling apparatus which is designed to receive the mattress in what I may callits crude or raw state and conduct it through the stitching organized condition with its horizontal and vertlcal.

bulging outline. This oper zone of a pair of twin roll edge machines. Thepresent invention deals with the harnessmg of the crude or partially completed mattress so that it" ma be conveniently handled during the su sequent stitching operations and whereby such operations may be facilitated. f

- .In the accompanying drawings which i1- lustrate myinvention as applied to the har nessrng of a mattress for the purpose of facilitating the operation of the roll edge machlne,

Fig. 1 is an elevation of the roll edge mach ne feed mechanism operating in con-. un ct1on with the harness of the mattress wlnch is being treated.

F1g. 2 is a plan view of the feed mechamsm shown in Fig. 1

Fig. 3 is a pan view of a mattress equipped with my improved harness,

Fig. 4 is an enlarged partial end elevation of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1,

a Fig. 5 1s a fragmentary plan view showing a modified form of harness, and

Fig. 6 is a section taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 5.

In Figs. 1 and 2, 10 and 11 represent the baseportions of a pair of spaced skeletonized columns or standards 12 and 13, in each of which are mounted in vertically spaced relation a pair' of superposed roll edge stitchin heads as at 14 and 15. Said pairs of heads are respectively driven b vertically extending shafts 16 and 17 w ich are operated in unison by means of bevel gearmg as at 18 and 19 driven from a horizontal shaft 20 rotatably supported in brackets as at 21. I

Shaft 20 is driven by a drive shaft through a chain 23 and sprocket wheels 24 and 25 keyed respectively to shafts 20 and 22. Said drive shaft 22 is supported to rotate in suitable bearings in spaced stand ards as at 26 and is driven continuouslyby a constantly operated belt 27 passing around a pulley 28 keyed to said shaft 22. It will be understood that, as in the machineshown. in the said Collett patent, the stitching heads, although driven from a constantly running source, are arranged to provide a free interval during which the mattress is not being operated upon and may be advanced a distance equal to the spacing between successive stitches. 1

On one end of the shaft 22' there is keyed referred to. Said ratchet a crank disc'29 carrying a crank pin 30 for actuating connecting rod or pitman 31, the upper end of which is connected to a pin 32 on the outer. end'of a rock arm 33 journaled upon the end of a'horizontal shaft 34.

Said horizontal shaft 34 is supported to 1'0- tate in suitable hearings in the up er ends of the standards 26 and on the end of said shaft 34 adjacent the arm 33 there is keyed a ratchet wheel 35 cooperating with a ratchet pin 32 previously dog 36 is normalwith the teeth 37 dog 36 pivoted on the ly pulled into engagement of ratchet wheel 35 by means of a small At the other end of themachine there is a somewhat similar horizontal shaft 41 which is driven at the same speed as shaft 34 by means of a chain 42 passing around'sprocket Wheels 43 and 44 keyed respectively to shafts 41 and 34. Said shaft is supported in bearings on small brackets as 'at 45 bolted to the standards 12 and 13, and runs at the same speed as shaft 34 by reason of sprocket wheels 44 and 43 having the same number of teeth.

There is keyed to the shaft 34 a spur pinion 46 which meshes with a spur pinion 47 rotating freely on a stub shaft or pin 48, and also formed as a part of said spur gear 47, there is a sprocket wheel 49 which, by means of a chain 50 drives a sprocket gear 51 keyed to a horizontal shaft 52. Said horizontal shaft 52 rotates freely in bearings as at 53 respectively bolted to the sides of standar s 12 and 13 .and also drives a horizontal shaft 54 through a chain 55 and sprocket wheels 56 and 57 respectively keye'd to the ends of shafts 52 and 54. The ratio between spur gears 46 and 47 and sprocket gears 49 and 51 is such that shaft 52 is driven atthe same speed as shaft 34. Also the sprocket Wheels 56 and 57 have the same number of teeth so that shaft 54 also runs at the same speed as shaft 52.

Each of the shafts 41, 52 and 54 is fitted with a pair of spur gears of the samespacingand having the same diameter and number of teeth as the pair of spur gears 39 and 40, so that each of said spur gears will be advanced one tooth or. a definite number of teeth for each reciprocation of the connecting rod 31. Each of the said gears is fitted wlth a pair of shroud plates as at 58 and 59 ;are held together .at their of somewhat larger diameter than the diameter of the gear so as to form in effect s aced flanges projecting outwardly and ra ially beyond the teeth of the gears. I

In order to feed the harnessed mattress into the machine, and to support the same when being delivered. from the machine, I provide sets of idling rolls arranged at the feed and delivery ends of the machine respectively. At the'feeding end of the machine there are four of-the idling-rolls 60 which-are supported on a pair of parallel horizontally extending transverse shafts 61 and 62 mounted in the upper ends of upstanding bracket frames as at 63. Similarly, at the delivery end of the machine I provide a supportingframe 64 in the upper end of which is mounted a shaft 65 carrying a pair of idler rolls 66. The four idler rolls 60 and the pair of idler rolls 66 are similar in size and construction and at opposite sides of the machine are, alined with corresponding rack gears. They are also similarly flanged, but need not be provided with teeth.'

All of the shafts 61, 62, 41, 34 and 65 are of the same height so as to support the horizontal rack members 67 and 68 which constitute the principal parts of the bottom portion of the mattress harness. As indicated in Figs. 3 and 4, said mattress harness comprises asv its principal elements a set of four of said rack members arranged in pairs above and below the mattress. Each of said rack members 67, 68, 69 and 70 is formed of a length of T-shaped steel or iron, the

cap portion 71 of the T being placed in contact with the mattress while the center limb portion 72 in which the rack teeth are cut is arranged to project outwardly from the mattress.

' 'Theracks or clamps 67 and 69 constitute a pair of clamps for one side of the mattress 73 and the slats or rack members 68 and 70;

which clamp the other side of the mattress I ends by means such as bolts 74 which pass through flanges of the racks where the latter project beyond the ends of the mattress, said bolts 7 4 being preferably tightened so as tofurnish the proper degree of compression in the mattress to permit the latter to be handled conveniently and also so as to secure the maximum efliciency forthe stitching mechanism.

The vertical spacing. of shafts 52 and 54 abovethe horizontal plane occupied by the axes of the lower shafts 61, 62, 41, 34 and 65 is such as to properly accommodate the racks without undue looseness or lost mbtion between rack and gear.,

I 'also. preferably provide spacing means forthe pairs of racks along opposite sides of the mattress to that said racks are maintained in substantially rigid relation with reference to each other and at the proper distance apart to enter between the shroud on the opposite rack bar b means of a thumb screw 7 7 and bolt therefor adapted to enter a small slot 7 8 in the end of the spacing bar.

As it is in some'instances desirable to further confine the edges of the mattress in order to facilitate the operationof the stitching mechamsm or roll edge machine, I prefer to equip ible bands or tapes as at 79 connected at their opposite ends to slots in the edges of the rack bar outer flanges as shown in Fig. 4, said bands being of the proper length .to exert an appreciable compressing eflect upon the mattressfilling 80 located externally of the clamping means. This also insures that the clamping rack members will always be positioned at the proper distance from the edge of the mattress if ordinary care be used in applying the clamps or racks. It will be understood that said bands or tapes 79 are suitably spaced to correspond with the desired spacing of the stitches inserted by the roll edge machine which spacing also corresponds with the advance movementof the harnezs and mattress due to the intermittent rotary movement of the rack gears. Also,

said tapes, owing to their flexibility of character do not interfere with the proper functioning of the presser foot 81'and work support 82 of the stitching head as indicated diagrammatically in Fig. 4.

In the particular embodiment herein shown, I have illustrated the parts of the harness which cooperate and gear with the associated propelling mechanism as relatively rigid members, by means of .which the mattress is also clamped and positively held therebetween. However, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that a flexible harnecs may be readily emplo ed in conjunction with other means for e ecting the compression and propulsion of the mattress.

'It will be manifest that in using the apparatus or harness shown in Figs. 3 and 4,

it will be necessary to arrange the harness differently on the mattress if it is desired to use the same for side stitching the ends rather than the sides This may be effected by using a somewhat shorter harness with longer spacing or cross bars and in conjunction therewith a roll edge machine, the, parts of which are s aced transversely according to the lengthwise dimension rather than acthe harness with a series of flex:

of a bin e pin means 0 an adjustable cross hook of tiegagement with a screw 98,

cordin to the width of the mattress as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 4. This requirement onl which is designed to operate upon all four is necessary when using a machine which for one setting will enable the mattress to be side stitched along all four sides without having to remove and rea )ply the harness. Such an arrangement'is illustrated .in Figs. 5 and 6 where it will be seen that instead of havin the longitudinal rack members 83 exten ing beyond the end 84 of the mattress, they are shortened and have their ends equipped with butt straps 85 secured to the underside of the clamp flanges by rivets as at 86. 'Said butt straps 85 project beyond the ends 87 of the rack bars 83 and underlie the overlapping ends of end rack members 88 similarin construction tothe rack bars 83. In the end of the butt strap 85 there is riveted-anoutwardly projecting dowel pin 89 fitting a corresponding dowel hole drilled in the overlapping end 90 of the end rack bar 88, said dowel pin being of suflicient length-to protrude through said .dowel hole a substantialdistance a3 indicated in Fig. 6. The pair of longitudinal rack bars 83 and end rack bars 88 at the top of the mattress, constitute in effect a rectangular skeleton clamping.

' frame, the parts of which may be detached from each other in setting the mattress, it

being understood that as in the harness shown in Fig. 3, the tapes or. bands which enclose the edges of the mattress, are preferably permanently connected by loops extending through slots inv the; edges of the rack bar flanges.

However, if desired, the four rack bars which constitute a similar clamping frame for the lower surface of the mattrei s may be permanently united' together as by rivets 91.

In order to apply clamping pressure to the raek .bars I prefer to use detachable clamping members. which cooperate with the corners of the upper and lower frames. Each of said clamps comprises a stout L- shaped member 92 suitably ribbed as'shown at 93 to provide theneoessary strength and rigidit larly s C-sh-aped. clamp. Said members 92 and 94 are preferably 95 and are held. together by member 96. Said tie member 96 is preferabl made in two parts, the upper part of which has a socket 97 having threaded enthelower end of which is pivoted on a pin 99 secured in lugs 100 on member 92.. The upper end ofthe apedmember 94 what is in effect a and forming with a-somewhat simipivoted together by means uniting member 96 is made with a hookshaped head 101 extending through a slot 102 in the member 94 normally held in engagement therewith by means of a small plate spring 103.

The inner ends of the C-shaped clamp member are each drilled to accommodate the outer ends of the upper and lower dowel pins so as to prevent the clamps from slipping off the corners of the frame in addition to which the said pins constitute pivots by means of which the C-shaped clamps can be swung from the full line position shown in Fig. 5' to the dotted line position as indicated at 104-when the harnessed mattress is turned through an angle of 90 for the purpose of operating upon the end edges thereof. It will be understood that preferably, in order to prevent interference with the stitching mechanism when the harnessed mattress is passing through the roll edge machine, the C-shaped clamps are arranged inalignment with rack bars. The full line position indicates the position of the clamps when the longitudinal edges of the mattress are being operated upon and the dotted lines indicate the position of such clamps when the end edges of the mattress are being treated.-

The described details of construction and operation being merely illustrative of a single application of my invention, it Will be understood that the scope of the invention should be determined by reference to the appended claims, said claims being construed as broadly as possible, consistent with the state of the art.

I claimas my invention: 1. For mattress making, the combination of stitching mechanism, a mattress harness comprising confining members respectively located at the top andbottom of the mattress and adjacent opposite edges thereof and means for connecting the members at each edge to confine the mattress therebetween, spacingmeans for maintaining the spaced relation of said members,.and means co operating with said harness for effecting advancing movement of the mattress relative to the stitching mechanism.

2. For mattress making, the combination of stitching mechanism, a mattress harness comprising pairs of confining members respectively located at the top and bottom of the mattress and adjacent opposite edges thereof and means extending around the respective edges for connecting the members of each pair to confine the mattress therebetween to form a portable vunit, spacing means for maintaining the spaced relation of the oppositely disposed pairs of confining mem-' bers and means for co-operating with the harness for advancin' said unit past the field of the stitching mec anism. v

3. For mattress making, the combination of stitching mechanism, a mattress harness comprisingpairs of confining members respectively located at the top and bottom of the mattress and adjacent opposite edges thereof, and means for connecting the members of each pair of confining members and spacing bars for maintaining the spaced relation of said pairs, said means and said spacing bars operable to confine the mattress therebetween to form a portable unit, means co-operating with the harness for advancing said unit past the field of the stitching mechanism, and means for operating the stitching mechanism in synchronism with the ad vancing means.

4. A harness for handling mattresses comprising four pairs of upper and lower confining members located at the top and bottom of the mattresses and disposed adjacent the longitudinal and transverse edges thereof, means connecting the members of each pair of confining members to confine the margin of the mattress therebetween, and means for connecting the confining members at their "adjoining ends so that each pair will act as a spacin means for the adjacent pairs.

5. In the art of mattress manufacture, a mattress harness comprising confining members respectively located at the top and bottom of the mattress and means for connecting said members to confine the mattress therebetween, the arrangement serving, when applied to a mattress, to constitute with said mattress, a portable unit, said confining members being provided with a series of spaced parts for facilitating step-by-step moven'ients of the mattress.

6. 1n the art of mattress manufacture, a mattress harness comprising confining members respectively located at the top and bottom of the mattress and means for connecting said members to confine the mattress therebetween, the arrangement serving, when applied to a mattress, to constitute with said mattress, a portable unit, mattress treating mechanism and means cooperating with said confining members for effecting relative step-by-step movements of the unit and treating means.

7. For mattress manufacture, means for converting a mattress into a standardized portable harnessed unit comprising members arranged to extend'above and below the mattress substantially parallel with the edge thereof, means for exerting inward pressure on said members to confine and press the mattress therebetween and means extending around the edge of the mattress and connecting said members together for confining and positioning the portion of the mattress located externally of the parallel members.

8L In mattress manufacture, the combination of substantially rigid parts arranged to extend above and below the mattress spaced from and parallel with the edge thereof and from and parallel. with the edge thereof,

means for drawing .to ether said parts to compress the mattress t erebetween.

9. In mattress manufacture, the combination of substantially rigid parts arranged to extend above and belowthe mattress spaced meansfor drawing together said parts to I compress the mattress therebetween and auxili'ary confining means for the edge of the mattress comprising relatively 'flexible means extending around said edge and conj means for drawing together said parts to compress the mattress therebetween, one of said parts being provided-with a series of spaced parts for facilitating step-by-step propulsion of the mattress. 11. For mattress manufacture, the combnation of a pair of rigid parts adapted to receive a mattress therebetween, a pair of 25 clam members cooperatin with theends of said parts for drawing said parts together 'to clamp said mattress securely therebetween andv means cooperatingwith said parts for propelling saidmattress.

12; In mattress manufacture, the combination of a lower frame adapted toengage the underside of and suppoi t a mattress, a cooperating upper frame adapted to engage the upper surface of said mattress and a glurality of connecting members adapted to raw said frames together to clamp the mattress itherebetween thereby to form fa portable unit. a

J OHN; F. GAIL. 

